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Bubblegun Reviews ASSORTED REVIEWS on BUBBLEGUN by the MERRYMAKERS BAM California's Music Magazine ESSENTIALLY a TWO-MAN CORE

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Bubblegun Reviews ASSORTED REVIEWS on BUBBLEGUN by the MERRYMAKERS BAM California's Music Magazine ESSENTIALLY a TWO-MAN CORE Bubblegun reviews ASSORTED REVIEWS ON BUBBLEGUN BY THE MERRYMAKERS BAM California's Music Magazine ESSENTIALLY A TWO-MAN CORE OF Swedes - Anders Hellgren and David Myhr - aided and abetted by various pals, the Merrymakers specialize in making pop of the purest form: Guitars jangle, vocal harmonies soar, love conquers all and the melodies stick in your head for days. Traces of Cheap Trick, ELO and (of course) the Beatles abound, but the Merrymakers' sound is a remarkably consistent one; Hellgren and Myhr are less interested in aping their idols than in building something new with the tools they've left behind. Though the songs are occasionally sweet to the point of becoming cloying, Bubblegun succeeds on the strength of cuts like "Superstar", "Ms Demeanor" and "April's Fool" (the latter co-written with former Jellyfish dude Andy Sturmer, who also produced four of the album's tracks), all of which make writing witty lyrics and twist-and-turn hooks sound like the easiest thing in the world. As an added enticement, the packgage also includes a bonus disc, which features five fine songs from the band's 1995 debut. - DAN EPSTEIN The onion The next great torchbearers of American power-pop may well be from Sweden. On The Merrymakers’ sophomore album (released elsewhere in 1997 and already a big hit in Japan), the group captures the style nearly perfectly, from swelling choruses to sentiments perfectly suited for sing-along pop songs and nowhere else. Best example of both: the chorus to ”Superstar,” which repeats, ”Don’t let go superstar / Let it show who you are / Don’t let go superstar / That’s what you are.” It’s pop at its (superficially) simplest and catchiest, but there’s a smartness and sophistication beneath the surface that never lets the music seem dispensable. The duo has also chosen its influences wisely, from the Michael Penn-like ”Under The Light Of The Moon” to the crisp production by Jellyfish frontman Andy Sturmer. Bubblegun peters out toward the end, but for at least its first two-thirds, it’s near brilliant. Also included is a second disc of selections from the group’s 1995 debut, and while that material isn’t quite as strong, it certainly suggests that The Merrymakers’ second album could be pretty great. It is. -Keith Phipps Amplifier On-Line Sweden’s premier pop guys, the Merrymakers, are poised to have their masterpiece Bubblegun released on these shores (it came out in Japan in 1997 and in Sweden last year). For those of you who haven’t yet heard this one (shame on you!), now’s your chance. Featuring 13 of the 14 tunes from the Japanese release-inexplicably ditching “What About?”-as well as five songs from their debut long-player, it’s nothing short of one of the best pure pop records of the decade. Heart, harmonies, melody, guts and song after song of pop perfection, all tied up in an Andy Sturmer-produced ribbon. John M. Borack Alan Haber’s Pure Pop First appearing in Japan at the tail end of 1997, Bubblegun was released in Sweden in early 1998. This terrific album will be released here in the United States on February 9, 1999 by Big Deal, likely giving it the distinction (as pointed out to me by David Bash) of being released in three different configurations in three consecutive years. In some ways, Bubblegun seems to be by another band; there is an emphasis on the slightly harder edge here, with louder guitars and heavier drums present throughout. The Merrymakers of No Sleep ‘til Famous, and certainly of Andrew’s Store, seem on the surface to be long gone. A closer look at the songs on Bubblegun, however, reveal a band dipping into a new bag of tricks as they get some distance from the ear candy of Famous and gain some valuable perspective. The slightly harder edge present on Bubblegun seems right in the context of progression, of time passing. The songwriting on Bubblegun is more complex than we’ve previously seen from the Merrymakers, and perhaps that’s what is most evident after listening to this album a few times. Certainly the arrangement on “Saltwater Drinks” confirms this; the take- no-prisoners attitude of “Superstar,” too—it rocks a bit harder than the boys have in the past. Bubblegun was produced by Ronald Bood and the band, save for four songs that were co-produced by the band and Jellyfish’s Andy Sturmer, who played drums and co- wrote “April’s Fool” and a song that appeared as a bonus track on the Japanese release, “Sad.” It will come as no surprise to listeners of the Pure Pop radio show that “April’s Fool” is my favorite song here: it’s another one of those great songs that Paul McCartney never wrote. And it’s catchy and really rather clever. Although Peter Karlsson has left the band, leaving David Myhr and Anders Hellgren to carry on as a duo, the U.S. future of the Merrymakers is (hopefully) assured with the release of Bubblegun by Big Deal. Something listeners will undoubtedly agree with. Alan Haber December 1998 Weekly Wire Power pop seems like it should be so simple. Two guitars, bass, drums, keyboard accents, lotsa harmonies, songs about girls ... nothing to it. This must be why there's so many incredibly boring power-pop albums. The parameters are set in stone, and far too many bands are content to only work within them. Then, luckily, there are bands like the Merrymakers. The Merrymakers, a drummerless Swedish trio, know that in power pop, it's the little things that matter. Bubblegun, their second album (after 1995's No Sleep Till Famous), is chockablock full of insistent hooks, neat little production tricks and two crucial elements for the success of any power-pop album: a sense of humor and a sense of dynamics. Too many power-pop albums feature one characterless mid-tempo tune after another, but Bubblegun shifts gears all over the place, following the hyperspeed "Superstar" with the leisurely "Monkey in the Middle," itself followed by the early-'70s AM bubblegum "Under the Light of the Moon." Bubblegun's drummer is Andy Sturmer, formerly co-leader of San Francisco's Jellyfish, and that band's big glammy hooks flavor much of the Merrymakers' album. Again, it's the little touches that make the songs, like the brief a capella intro to the album-opening "Saltwater Drinks" or the way "April's Fool" starts and ends with the piano riff from ABBA's "Money Money Money," a nice (and surprisingly rare) nod to Sweden's first pop superstars. Elsewhere, weird synth and percussion accents elevate the tough 'n' speedy "A Fine Line" above the mediocre, while the stuttering "I'm In ... Love!" (featuring Sturmer's best drumming and a neat use of the "Sweet Jane" riff) is probably the album's highlight. There's some missteps. A couple of the lyrics are clunkers, like the trite "Troubled Times:" "Only you can get you through your troubled times." Well ... thanks. But on the other hand, even that song has a chorus that turns around and bites you on the ass when you least expect it, which is pretty much all we ask of power pop. And that's what Bubblegun regularly delivers. !!!! ftmmusic.com TIME FOR SOMETHING SWEDE!!! Think Swedish pop and chances are your first thoughts would be of the Scandanavian nation’s most successful musical export, ABBA. Well, the 90s have seen a renaissance of sorts for the Swedish pop scene as the likes of Roxette, Ace of Base, the Cardigans et al have proven that Swedepop (its most convenient handle) has a place in the hearts and wallets of pop kids all around the globe. Just beneath the surface, there is a ground swell of an underground movement within the Swedish pop ranks that given the right exposure and (most critically) radio airplay, may also match up to the successful paths already blazed ahead by these aforementioned bands.. These fringe outfits include the angular Pixies-like punk of bob hund, the jangly poprock of Dorian Gray and most significantly, the pristine powerpop of the Merrymakers.. Comprising essentially of Anders Hellgren and David Myhr, the Merrymakers have two excellent records under their belt - 1995’s No Sleep Till Famous (big in Japan to the tune of 70,000 units)and Bubblegun, released in Sweden last year by Virgin.. Fortunately for American pop fans, the Merrymakers have managed to secure US distribution for Bubblegun with specialist pop label Big Deal, home of Splitsville; Gladhands; Cockeyed Ghost and other pop giants. This US version does not merely reproduce its Swedish predecessor. In fact, a concerted effort has been made to ensure that Bubblegun is presented in the best light possible. To this end, the track sequence has been tweaked somewhat - two inserted, one omitted - and a bonus disc, containing five songs off No Sleep has been added... And it appears to have paid dividends as the record seems tighter and more focused on delivering those hefty hooks and spinetingling harmonies. From the driving adrenaline-pumping Saltwater Drinks to the radio-friendly ditty April’s Fool (co- written with Andy Sturmer: ex-leader of pop-meisters Jellyfish); from the easy Beatlesque splendor of Under the Light of the Moon to the gorgeous shiver inducing sentiments of Monkey in the Middle; from the country-inflected Adore (with pedal steel, no less) to the heartfelt Outside Looking In, Bubblegun is a wonder and a joy - an album that will literally eat you alive, if you only give it half a chance.
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